Rossini’s original version of Maometto
II was premiered at the San Carlo
Opera in Naples on 3 December 1820.
It was his 31st opera and
the eighth, and arguably the most radical,
of the reform operas that Rossini wrote
for performance there. At Naples he
had the benefit of an outstanding full-time
orchestra and chorus as well as an unequalled
roster of star singers. This enabled
him to distance himself from the populist
clamour of Rome and Venice for crescendos
and simplistic orchestral forms as well
as static arias and stage scenes.

Despite critical approval
the audience received Maometto only
modestly. When Rossini was commissioned
to write an opera to open the 1822-23
Venice season, in advance of his completely
new opera for the theatre later in the
season (Semiramide), he intended
to revise and present Zelmira.
This had been premiered in Naples on
16 February 1822. Despite Rossini’s
efforts, and there being no copyright
laws on the Italian peninsular, an appropriated
and bowdlerised version of the work
was presented at Venice’s small San
Benedetto theatre on 21 September 1822.
The Fenice contract stipulated that
the work had to be new to the city.Maometto with its plot harking
back to Venice’s historical past was
ideal. However, Venice was not sophisticated
Naples and Rossini needed to adapt the
score to more simplistic forms and supply
a happy ending. This was a requirement
for any presentation north of Naples,
even of Otello for Rome (LINK).
Nor were the contracted soloists, whilst
of appropriate vocal range, of the quality
of those at Naples. The upshot was that
Rossini made radical revisions to the
score and reduced the burden on the
soloists by removal of solo items and
by splitting up the complex long trio
of the middle scene of act one. He also
wrote a new ten-minute orchestral introduction
(Disc 1 Ch. 1). The happy ending is
a straight lift of Tanti affetti
in tal momento (Disc 2 Ch. 6) from
La Donna del Lago, which Rossini
also used for the conclusion of Bianca
e Falliero composed for Rome and
presented on 26 December 1819. The differences
between the Naples and Venice versions
are summarised via a side-by-side layout
of the opera numbers on page 16 of the
accompanying booklet. It is a pity that
this was not used as the basis of Chapter
divisions. They are far too meagre at
nine on disc one and a mere six on disc
two. The booklet also has an informative
essay on the genesis of the opera. Incongruously,
while the essay notes that the role
of Condulmiero, written for a high tenor
in Naples, was rewritten for a bass
for Venice, it fails to point out that
in this performance the role is taken
by what the Italians call a ‘contralista’,
a male alto or counter-tenor. In the
Naxos World Premiere CD recording of
the Venice version (LINK)
the role is taken by a bass but he does
not sing the high E in the first act.
As there is no surviving complete score
of the Venice version, and no critical
edition, this performance follows one
prepared by Claudio Scimone. There are
some slight textual differences from
that given on the Naxos issue presented
at Bad Wildbad in July 2002. Both this
and the Naxos are just over 15 minutes
shorter in length than the excellent
1983 Philips recording of the original
Naples version featuring Samuel Ramey
as Maometto and June Anderson as Anna:
recently reissued (AmazonUK).

The Teatro La Fenice
reopened after its disastrous mid-1990s
fire with Verdi’s La Traviata,
a work premiered at the theatre on 6
March 1853. Since that reopening the
administration has staged several rarely
seen operatic works with a particular
association with the theatre. Shortly
after this production of Maometto
II, Donizetti’s rarely performed
Pia De’ Tolomei was given . It
was premiered at La Fenice in 1837.
This is a wholly commendable and welcome
policy that I hope will continue despite
the strict economic regime currently
being applied to Italy’s lyric theatres
and which threatens several with bankruptcy.
Cancelled revivals, new productions
and scheduled performances in some theatres
are already the order of the day. Dynamic’s
policy of recording these stagings is
to be applauded and one can but hope
the opportunity continues to be available
in the prevailing climate.

This production of
Maometto II is set in the period
of the story and without the distraction
of any producer’s fancy ideas. The set
is on two levels. For most of the opera
the upper level comprises a temple with
the lower being the crypt, doubling
as a meeting area. As Maometto comes
to celebrate the capture of the city
of Negraponte partly broken city walls
replace the temple. The broken wall
down which Maometto will later descend
is lit in vivid red, as is the backdrop,
representing the bloodshed of the battle.
The lighting here, and elsewhere, illuminates
in every sense, the action of the opera.
It is really first class and with the
aid of good camera work and the High
Definition recording, makes for a clear
and enjoyable production. The costumes
of the Venetian women are in subtle
colours that also benefit from the clarity
of the lighting.

Apart from the restricted
acting of Maxim Miranov as Erisso, I
was struck by the lack of involvement
in terms of facial and bodily expression
of the male section of the chorus. I
was reminded of a conversation with
an Italian primo singer who has sung
at La Scala as well as elsewhere in
Europe and America and who glories in
the commitment and acting involvement
of the chorus when he sings in the UK.
The upside here is the vibrant singing
and the particular squilla that native
Italian choruses bring to their own
language and which is pleasingly evident
throughout this performance. Wholly
commendable too is the shaping of the
music and appropriate tempi by Claudio
Scimone on the rostrum. Notable too
is his support for the singers in their
florid music. He is a scholar as well
as a conductor and to him we are indebted
for several Rossini Critical Editions.
I hope that his researches for this
production will form the basis of a
forthcoming Critical Edition of Maometto
II.

The singing on the
male side is a little mixed. I found
the casting of a counter-tenor as Condulmiero
completely incongruous in his brief
appearances although his voice and phrasing
were good. Glyndebourne have satisfactorily
cast the high tenor parts originally
written for the Naples tenor duo of
Nozzari and David and I cannot see why
La Fenice could not do the same. I have
commented on the poor acting of the
Russian Maxim Miranov as Paolo Erisso.
Very tall, he spent far too long with
his head bent and slightly to one side
with complete lack of any facial expression.
He coped well with the vocal demands
of the often high-lying music, florid
runs and vocal decoration. That being
said, I personally found his tone lacking
in vocal beauty, a not unusual state
of affairs from tenors in this demanding
music. Whatever limitations the other
principal male singers had, Lorenzo
Regazza as Maometto did not share them.
Imposing of stature and vocal colour,
his was a formidable interpretation.
It was made all the more enjoyable by
his histrionic skills in evidence via
deportment and facial expression. These
register strongly from his arrival at
the top of the broken walls of the city
(Disc 1 Ch. 7) to his final departure
to fight and die in a second battle,
offstage this time (Disc 2 Ch. 4). His
bass voice is sufficiently flexible
for the demands of his music and is
allied to an evenness of tone throughout
its range and good diction. This may
reflect his experience in Rossini buffa
roles where the ability, in patter arias,
to manoeuvre the voice around notes
is an absolute necessity. Both female
roles were outstandingly sung and acted.
Carmen Giannattasio as Anna Erisso has
a lovely stage presence matched by a
lyric soprano voice of beauty, clarity
and a wide palette of colour. Her acting
was on a par with her vocal skills and
could not be faulted from her Ilarita!
…Per me? in act one (Disc 1 Ch.
4) to her rendering of the rondo finale
at the happy conclusion in this version
(Disc 2 Ch. 6). The singing and acting
of Anna-Rita Gemmabella in the trousers
role of the Venetian General Calbo was
of the same high standard as her female
colleague. She has sung at La Scala
and took the same role on the Naxos
audio recording of this Venice version.
As in that performance, her rich, Marilyn
Horne-type tonal colour and range is
most impressive. Add her involved acting,
clear diction and command of the florid
singing demanded and this further buttressed
the overall quality of the performance.
An excellent example of her qualities
is to be found in her acting and singing
of Non temer; d’un baso affetto
as Calbo determines to fight the second
battle and rescue Anna from Maometto
(Disc 2 Ch. 30).

This recording is a
welcome and valuable addition to the
rapidly expanding repertoire of Rossini
operas on DVD. I recommend it in the
strongest terms. I hope La Fenice continues
to perform such repertoire and that
Dynamic will be there to record it.

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